A Theater for Royalty: Hampton Court Palace and the English Monarchy

Primary Faculty Mentor’s Name

Dr. Claire McCoy

Proposal Track

Student

Session Format

Paper Presentation

Abstract

The luxury and scandal; the pleasures and pains of royalty have continually constructed and reconstructed the turrets and pillars seen today at England’s Hampton Court Palace. In the sixteenth century, Henry VIII creates a playground of medieval chivalry; a theater where his costumed wives enter and exit the stage, each leaving their mark architecturally. The emblem of Anne Boleyn is entwined with the English roses on the Great Hall hammer-beam ceiling Henry commissions for her in 1533 – they are later to be removed when she is tragically convicted and beheaded. Kitchens grow, rooms are rearranged; and yet, as kings and queens come and go, the palace falls into periods of disuse and disrepair. Finally, after centuries of relative abandonment, the newly crowned William of Orange declares the medieval structure his royal retreat. Thus, in this presentation I am exploring the ontological notion of royal palaces through an analysis of Hampton Court Palace’s metamorphosis through the changing monarchs of ages passed. This structure represents both a personal and national reflection of English monarchs as individuals and, furthermore, English monarchy as an institution changing and unique from any in Europe. I focus on the two major stages of expansion and/or reconstruction: alterations during the reigns of Henry VIII in the sixteenth century and joint monarchs William III and Mary II in the early eighteenth. I emphasize analysis of the latter construction period under William and Mary as to show and argue that the qualities of palatial architecture are things that are both stable and flexible through the eras; that while the essential principles of a royal palace may remain the same overtime, they conform necessarily to contemporary needs. Therefore, examination of the earlier Tudor building is necessary to chart the transformation of architectural styles as it correlates to the foundational concepts of royalty and their respective structural monuments that nevertheless remain constant.

Keywords

Hampton Court Palace, England, Royalty, Architecture, Palace, Medieval, Neoclassical

Award Consideration

1

Location

Room 2905

Presentation Year

2014

Start Date

11-15-2014 1:45 PM

End Date

11-15-2014 2:45 PM

Publication Type and Release Option

Presentation (Open Access)

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Nov 15th, 1:45 PM Nov 15th, 2:45 PM

A Theater for Royalty: Hampton Court Palace and the English Monarchy

Room 2905

The luxury and scandal; the pleasures and pains of royalty have continually constructed and reconstructed the turrets and pillars seen today at England’s Hampton Court Palace. In the sixteenth century, Henry VIII creates a playground of medieval chivalry; a theater where his costumed wives enter and exit the stage, each leaving their mark architecturally. The emblem of Anne Boleyn is entwined with the English roses on the Great Hall hammer-beam ceiling Henry commissions for her in 1533 – they are later to be removed when she is tragically convicted and beheaded. Kitchens grow, rooms are rearranged; and yet, as kings and queens come and go, the palace falls into periods of disuse and disrepair. Finally, after centuries of relative abandonment, the newly crowned William of Orange declares the medieval structure his royal retreat. Thus, in this presentation I am exploring the ontological notion of royal palaces through an analysis of Hampton Court Palace’s metamorphosis through the changing monarchs of ages passed. This structure represents both a personal and national reflection of English monarchs as individuals and, furthermore, English monarchy as an institution changing and unique from any in Europe. I focus on the two major stages of expansion and/or reconstruction: alterations during the reigns of Henry VIII in the sixteenth century and joint monarchs William III and Mary II in the early eighteenth. I emphasize analysis of the latter construction period under William and Mary as to show and argue that the qualities of palatial architecture are things that are both stable and flexible through the eras; that while the essential principles of a royal palace may remain the same overtime, they conform necessarily to contemporary needs. Therefore, examination of the earlier Tudor building is necessary to chart the transformation of architectural styles as it correlates to the foundational concepts of royalty and their respective structural monuments that nevertheless remain constant.